the abduction

248 Pages·2013·1.32 MB·English

by  Erin Durante

THE
ABDUCTION

By Erin Durante
THE ABDUCTION

Copyright
 ©
 2013
 by
 Erin
 Durante

All
 rights
 reserved.

No
 part
 of
 this
 book
 may
 be
 reproduced,
 scanned,
 or

distributed
 in
 any
 printed
 or
 electronic
 form
 without

permission.
 Please
 support
 the
 authors
 and
 do
 not

participate
 in
 the
 piracy
 of
 copyrighted
 materials.

This
 is
 a
 work
 of
 fiction.
 All
 characters,
 names,
 and
 events
 in

this
 book
 are
 fictitious.
 Any
 resemblance
 to
 persons
 living
 or

dead
 is
 purely
 coincidental.

Cover
 art
 and
 design
 by
 Gilly.
Dedication

For
 Bri—

Who
 finally
 found
 her
 Prince
 Charming

Table of Contents

ONE........................................................................................9

TWO....................................................................................22

THREE...............................................................................34

FOUR..................................................................................46

FIVE.....................................................................................58

SIX ........................................................................................66

SEVEN................................................................................80

EIGHT...............................................................................88

NINE.................................................................................100

ELEVEN...........................................................................129

TWELVE..........................................................................146

THIRTEEN...................................................................153

FOURTEEN..................................................................165

FIFTEEN ........................................................................179

SIXTEEN ........................................................................193

SEVENTEEN................................................................205

EIGHTEEN...................................................................221

NINETEEN...................................................................228

TWENTY........................................................................238

THE
ABDUCTION

By Erin Durante

ONE

  “Is
 the
 Internet
 down?”

  Samantha
  didn’t
  look
  up
  from
  where
  she
  sat
  on
  the

couch,
 her
 eyes
 focused
 over
 the
 bridge
 of
 her
 straight
 nose

down
 to
 her
 lap.
 She
 tapped
 the
 screen
 of
 her
 handheld
 tablet

with
 one
 thumb
 to
 turn
 the
 page
 and
 wiped
 at
 her
 red
 nose

with
 a
 tissue.

 “I
 just
 downloaded
 a
 book
 ten
 minutes
 ago.

Internet
 is
 fine.”

  “Well,
 the
 TV
 isn’t
 changing
 channels.”

  “The
 batteries
 in
 the
 remote
 are
 probably
 low.”

  Carly,
 a
 petite,
 curly-­‐haired
 blonde,
 pressed
 the
 buttons

on
 the
 remote
 controller
 down
 violently
 with
 her
 thumb,
 and

then
 smacked
 the
 remote
 against
 the
 arm
 of
 the
 coffee
 table.

“Damn
 piece…of…shit…”

“Hey!”
 Samantha
 set
 down
 the
 tablet
 and
 leaned
 over
 to

snatch
  the
  remote
  from
  Carly’s
  hand.
  “Violence
  and

electronics
 do
 not
 mix!”
 She
 shook
 her
 head
 and
 pointed
 the

remote
 at
 the
 small
 flat
 screen
 in
 the
 corner
 of
 the
 hotel

room,
  frowning
  after
  pressing
  a
  few
  buttons
  with
  no

response.
 The
 newscaster
 dragged
 on,
 spouting
 something

about
 an
 alarming
 number
 of
 missing
 girls
 from
 someplace
 in

New
 York.

“See?”
  Carly’s
  pink,
  pouty
  mouth
  scrunched
  into
  a

satisfied
 smirk
 as
 she
 eyed
 the
 slim
 brunette.
 Her
 short
 gold
curls
 bounced
 around
 her
 heart
 shaped
 face
 as
 she
 flipped

her
 head
 triumphantly.
 “I’m
 not
 the
 only
 one
 with
 issues.”

Samantha
 let
 out
 a
 short
 bark
 of
 laughter,
 her
 hazel
 eyes

sparkling.
 “Oh,
 trust
 me.
 My
 issues
 are
 not
 even
 in
 the
 same

ballpark
 as
 yours—”

“Well
 if
 we’d
 just
 go
 down
 to
 the
 casino
 already
 then
 we

wouldn’t
 have
 to
 be
 worrying
 about
 the
 TV.”

Samantha
 looked
 up,
 rolling
 her
 eyes.
 “I
 just
 got
 here

after
 driving
 seven
 hours
 to
 meet
 you.
 I’m
 tired
 and
 need
 to

unwind
 while
 the
 cold
 meds
 kick
 in.
 Besides,”
 she
 pushed
 a

lock
 of
 long
 brown
 hair
 behind
 one
 ear,
 “I
 still
 need
 to
 go

back
 to
 the
 car
 to
 get
 my
 wallet
 before
 I
 can
 gamble.”

“I
 can’t
 believe
 you
 remembered
 your
 stupid
 ereader
 but

forgot
 your
 purse
 in
 the
 car.
 You
 know
 you
 have
 horrible

priorities?”

The
 TV
 shut
 off.
 Both
 girls
 looked
 at
 each
 other,
 and
 then

down
 at
 the
 remote.

“Hey,”
 Carly
 said
 happily.
 “You
 got
 it
 to
 work.”

Samantha
 shook
 her
 head.
 “I
 didn’t
 do
 anything.”

The
 overhead
 lights
 went
 out,
 along
 with
 the
 alarm
 clock

on
 the
 nightstand
 between
 the
 two
 beds
 and
 the
 lamp
 beside

the
 beds.
 The
 hum
 of
 the
 hotel’s
 small
 refrigerator
 slowed

and
  then
  clicked
  to
  a
  stop.
  Silence
  hung
  heavy
  in
  the

darkened
  room,
  illuminated
  only
  by
  the
  small
  screen
  of

Samantha’s
 tablet.

“Great.”
 Carly
 jumped
 off
 the
 bed
 and
 hurried
 over
 to
 the

window,
  throwing
  back
  the
  curtain
  to
  let
  in
  the
  dying

evening
 light.
 “The
 power’s
 out,
 again.
 Serves
 me
 right
 for

wanting
 us
 to
 stay
 in
 one
 of
 the
 new
 rooms
 before
 they

finished
 renovating…”

“Hey,
 we
 agreed
 to
 save
 money
 on
 the
 rooms
 so
 we
 can

spend
 it
 at
 the
 casinos,”
 Samantha
 said
 as
 she
 settled
 back

with
 her
 book.

Carly
 sighed.
 “I
 know.
 But
 now
 I
 wish
 we
 hadn’t
 gotten
 so

cheap
 and
 just
 paid
 for
 the
 Monte
 Carlo.
 You
 now
 my
 parents

offered
 to
 cover
 the
 tab.
 I
 really
 wanted
 you
 to
 enjoy
 this

trip.”